Thor looked at the photo.
"He's quite fat."
Loki chuckled softly.
"Indeed, he looks a whole size larger than you," Loki nodded.
Thor was clearly dissatisfied with this statement: "What do you mean 'a whole size larger than me'? That's muscle, okay!"
Loki ignored him and continued scrolling through the screen. "His influence is indeed vast. New York's docks, warehouses, nightclubs, casinos... many of them are his."
In the evening, the three siblings returned to the apartment.
Mavuika cooked a simple dinner: pasta with meat sauce, a vegetable salad, and a bottle of red wine.
Thor was full of praise for the pasta, eating three whole plates.
"Big sister, what you made is even better than that hot dog from lunch!"
Mavuika smiled.
"That's because you're hungry."
Loki elegantly twirled his noodles, taking small bites and occasionally sipping the red wine.
"This wine is good," he said. "It has more depth than Asgard's mead."
Thor glared at him: "That's the third time today you've said the mead isn't good!"
Loki blinked innocently: "Was it? I'm just telling the truth."
Thor huffed and took another large mouthful of noodles.
Mavuika watched them bicker, a sense of warmth rising in her heart.
It had been several hundred years.
These two guys were still the same.
After eating, Thor lay on the sofa, rubbing his belly while watching TV.
He had already learned how to change channels and was marveling at the variety of programs.
Loki sat on a chair on the balcony, continuing to fiddle with his phone.
He had registered a social media account and was browsing various news and posts.
After Mavuika finished tidying the kitchen, she walked out to the balcony and stood next to Loki.
"What are you looking at?"
Loki looked up.
"A lot," he said. "This 'Internet' is very interesting. There's all kinds of information."
He paused.
"I found the 'myths' about us."
Mavuika raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Oh?"
Loki handed the phone to her.
On the screen was a popular science article about norse mythology.
It read: Thor, the God of Thunder, son of Odin, King of the Gods, wielding the hammer mjolnir, is a symbol of strength and courage.
Loki, the God of Mischief, the God of Pranks, son of Odin...
Mavuika finished reading and handed the phone back to him.
"Quite interesting, isn't it?"
Loki looked at her, his emerald green eyes flickering with a complex light.
After a moment, he asked softly, "Big sister, do you miss home?"
Mavuika was stunned for a moment.
Then she smiled.
"Of course," she said.
...
In some corner of New York, a man was observing the windows of that Villa through binoculars.
Bullseye.
One of Kingpin's strongest assassins.
He was wearing a set of black tactical gear, lurking on the rooftop of the building opposite.
His position was well-chosen—hidden, with a wide field of vision, allowing him to clearly see the activity inside Mavuika's house.
Through the binoculars, he saw the burly blonde man lying on the sofa watching TV, the elegant black-haired man sitting on the balcony, and the red-haired woman tidying up in the kitchen.
They looked like ordinary people.
But he wouldn't think so.
What ordinary person would dare provoke Kingpin?
Bullseye put down the binoculars, took out his phone, and dialed a number.
"Boss."
Kingpin's voice came through the receiver.
"How is it?"
"I see them. Three people, two men and one woman. The woman... looks a bit familiar."
There was silence on the other end for two seconds.
"Familiar?"
"Yes. It's like I've seen her somewhere before." Bullseye thought for a moment. "I can't recall."
Kingpin: "Continue observing. Don't make a move."
Bullseye frowned.
"Boss, are we just going to let them be so arrogant?"
Kingpin's voice was calm.
"I said, continue observing."
The call ended.
Bullseye put away his phone and picked up the binoculars again.
He looked at the warm window, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Just wait," he muttered. "There will be an opportunity."
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Fisk Tower.
Kingpin sat in his massive leather chair, in front of a row of monitors.
The screens displayed various surveillance footage—streets, docks, casinos, nightclubs... every dark corner of New York was under his control.
But he wasn't looking at those now.
He was looking at a file.
There was a photo of a woman in that file.
Red hair, amber eyes, young and beautiful.
It was the data from the Harlem incident—it had taken him quite some effort to get his hands on it.
Kingpin stared at the photo, his brow furrowing.
This woman's face, he felt like he had seen it somewhere before.
But he couldn't remember.
He put down the file and picked up the phone.
"Investigate someone for me."
He reported Mavuika's information.
"I want to know everything about her."
The call ended.
Kingpin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
That burly blonde man, that black-haired man, and this woman...
Who were they?
Where did they come from?
Why did they come to New York?
He didn't know.
But he had a bad premonition.
This kind of premonition was rare in all his years as the Underground Emperor of New York.
And every time he had this feeling, something big would happen.
Kingpin took a deep breath.
"Bullseye," he said to the air, "keep watching. Don't act rashly."
...
Deeper into the night.
In an even more hidden corner.
In a certain underground Base in New York, several figures sat around a dimly lit conference room.
The man in the suit at the head of the table looked at the report in front of him, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Kingpin's people took a hit today," he said.
The person next to him asked, "Took a hit? Who did it?"
The man in the suit pushed a photo forward.
The photo showed Thor—captured by a surveillance camera, standing at the mouth of an alley with two unconscious henchmen lying in front of him.
"Just this guy?"
"More than that." The man in the suit pushed two more photos forward. "These two as well."
Loki, Mavuika.
The person next to him looked at the photos and frowned.
"These three... what's their background?"
The man in the suit shook his head.
"I don't know. But one thing is very interesting—" He paused.
"The 'sun woman' from Harlem before, she's this red-haired woman."
The conference room was silent for a few seconds.
"It's her?"
"Yes," the man in the suit nodded. "S.H.I.E.L.D. blocked her information, but there are still some leaks."
He tapped the photos on the table.
"The woman Nick Fury met personally, the woman who could defeat that monster with one hand, appeared here today and got into a conflict with Kingpin's people."
He looked up at the people present.
"Don't you think this is an opportunity?"
Someone asked, "What kind of opportunity?"
The man in the suit smiled.
"An opportunity to test them."
He stood up and walked to the wall, where a map of New York was hanging.
"Kingpin's influence is too great; we've never been able to get a foot in. S.H.I.E.L.D. treats that woman like a treasure, and we don't know how strong she really is. Now—"
He pointed at the map. "They've clashed."
He turned and looked at everyone.
"Let Kingpin bear the brunt of this misfortune; we just need to... give it a push."